Deformation Behavior and Nucleation Activity of a Thermotropic Liquid-Crystalline Polymer in Poly(butylene terephthalate)-Based Composites

摘要

Polymer composites based on a thermotropic liquid-crystalline polymer (TLCP) and poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) were prepared using a melt blending process.Polymer composites consisting of bulk cheap polyester with a small quantity of expensive TLCP are of interest from a commercial perspective.The interactions between the PBT chains and the flexible poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) units in the TLCP phase resulted in an improvement in the compatibility of PBT/TLCP composites.TLCP droplets deformed and fragmented into smaller droplets in the PBT/TLCP composites,which resulted in TLCP fibrillation through the effective deformation of the TLCP droplets.The nucleation activities of the PBT/TLCP composites increased by adding even a small amount of the TLCP component.